Interesting HARP reactions

26Oct2011

Posted by Andrew Kantor

More reaction to the revamped HARP rules that make it easier for underwater homeowners to refinance:

Rep. Randy Neugebauer (R-Texas) calls the plan a “stimulus” rather than a housing initiative, and said that the government should focus on speeding the foreclosure process, rather than trying to help borrowers.

Reuters columnist James Saft said that HARP 2.0 “might possibly help the housing market and economy, and definitely will help banks, but it will very likely do so at the expense of the poor saps who decide to stick with their impossibly underwater loans and the houses that go with them.”

He says it would be better for underwater borrowers to “walk away from the loans without putting their other assets at risk,” because they “are usually better off defaulting on the loan, handing the keys to the bank, taking the hit to their credit rating and getting on with the rest of their lives.”